Who doesn't want to fly for free?
But can you really get where you want to go using your frequent flyer miles?
To
find out, Consumer Reports asked staffers to try booking round-trip
tickets using their frequent flyer miles with nine programs: Alaska,
American, Delta, Frontier, Jet Blue, Southwest, Spirit, United and US
Airways.
The staffers searched for a seat on the five most
popular U.S. routes Los Angeles to New York, Chicago to New York,
Chicago to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to San Francisco, and Atlanta to New
York for flights that departed in three days, one month and three
months.
The results were just a snapshot in time, but the
options were often limited. Staffers had the most choices on Delta,
followed by Southwest and US Airways.
The deals also varied
widely. Spirit required the most miles for the routes staffers checked,
followed by US Airways. And they both charged the highest booking fees:
more than $100 for last-minute travel.
The best mileage deals were with Alaska Airlines, followed by JetBlue, American and Delta.
Consumer
Reports found that you are usually far better off booking early. For
example, on Southwest's Chicago to New York route, a round trip ticket
went from around 17,000 miles a month before departure to more than
77,000 for a flight three days away.
On short notice United was the only airline that sometimes lowered the number of miles needed to book a seat.
Whatever you do, Consumer Reports says don't hoard frequent flyer miles. You run the risk that they'll expire.
Consumer
Reports says that if you can't book a seat using miles, try calling the
frequent-flyer service desk. Agents can sometimes find seats that you
can't.
Story and Video: http://www.ksat.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment